Aonijie C962# 12L Hydration Backpack - Product Review (First Impressions)

So this entry is purely first impressions - I've yet to take this pack out for a run & I've just condensed my evaluation to 3 things.. 

1. Material and finishing - similar to Salomon S-Lab Sense Set
2. Sizing and fit - similar to Salomon Advanced Skin 12, but not as flexible (details below)
3. Pricing - one must not forget pricing of the C962 is around say one-third of the Salomon packs 

Left: C962 / Middle: S-Lab Sense Set / Right: Adv Skin 12

Material & Finishing

Hopefully you can see from the pictures that the C962 feels more similar to S-Lab Sense Set - which is generally softer to touch than the Adv Skin 12. The Adv Skin 12 seem to use different type of material and finishing which seem to suggest it to be potentially longer-lasting..

Once again, these are just my first impressions - we'll only know how the pack holds up with time.. at least material wise, they're all using the same stuff - Nylon/Polyamide + Spandex/Elastane + Polyester.. 

Top: C962 / Mid: S-Lab Sense Set / Bottom: Adv Skin 12

Sizing & Fit

So my chest measures 93cm landing me in the M/L sizing. I've followed the size guide provided for the Aonijie products & below is a copy of that guide. First impressions fitting is that it feels a bit small. The C962 doesn't flex as much as the Salomon brands - mainly due to the front straps (not stretchy type), and I've actually decided to get a L/XL sizing instead.



The M/L pack actually fits my wife far better, and she is actually in the 80cm bracket (ie. S/M according to size guide).

So when I wear it, 2 particular areas feels a bit tight - the underarm armpit area and the front. You can see in the pictures how very stretched the pack looks - the lower front strap is already maxed out and I had to move both straps up 2x notches from its default position. This is all still with an empty pack, nothing loaded yet! Perhaps its my bulky top frame.. or maybe I'm just fat :P

And the following pics shows the underarm armpit compartment is tucked right under the armpit which could be fine if the overall pack flexes when I rotate shoulders/stretch out my arms, you can feel this area just rubbing in and not quite flexing together with the body, once again this is all with an empty pack.. I can only expect it to feel tighter in a full pack. So hopefully going with one size-up, this concern will go away.

In comparison, the Adv Skin 12 at size M has the stretchy cords as front straps, and which the underarm compartments are similarly placed (right under the armpits), the pack flexes with you and it doesn't feel like it's ribbing in at all..

With the S-Lab Sense Set size M/L - you get stretchy front straps as well plus the underarm armpit compartment is further away from the armpit, as a result no ribbing at all.. a very comfortable pack as a result.

Next up, waiting for the L/XL pack to arrive - hopefully the fit will improve & we'll take it out for a spin & see how it holds up..

So at this stage my first recommendation would be to consider getting one size-up especially if you believe that your body frame looks anything like ours.. 

Stay tuned folks..